By Ronen Erulkar
With rain hitting the eastern suburbs on Friday night and Saturday morning, this saw the washout of Lilydale’s U10s, U12s, U16s and U18s teams. On Saturday afternoon, only four teams took the field with the 5th XI having a bye and the 6th XI being abandoned due to poor ground conditions at Kinley Oval.
The First XI successfully defended their first innings total of 274, bowling Montrose out for 196 with a handful of overs to spare. Shifran Muthalf backed up a first innings century with 5/61 off 26.2 overs. He was supported by Nathan Thompson (2/30) and Angus Adamson (2/36) who both contributed to a solid win on the day.
Our Second XI also defended a large first innings total of 289, bowling Wonga Park out for 161. Bailey Humphrey (3/44) and Quinton Hodgkinson (2/42) led the way with the ball, and all other bowlers contributed with 1 wicket each.
The Third XI faced a strong Yarra Glen First XI team in a one day game. In the first innings, they could only manage 9/144 with Trent Davison the mainstay scoring 44. Yarra Glen chased the total down in 29 overs, with Bailey Gray (3/16) and Birra Whyman-Coombes (3/49) the main wicket takers.
Our Fourth XI had a big win against Chirnside Park, with captain Daniel Barker making a magnificent 108 to lead us to 5/219. In reply, they held the opposition to 9/161 from their allotted overs, with Daniel Barker (2/14) and Braeden Anthony-Digby (2/22) the main wicket takers.
On Sunday, the Stage 1 girls team took on Eastfield at Benson Oval. Eastfield batted first and made 105, and in reply we made 80 runs.
On the Saturday 18 February Lilydale Cricket Club has its major draw from 7pm at the clubrooms, with tickets still available for sale. The following week on Saturday 25 February is the Ladies Day fundraiser, which this year is raising money for the Ronald McDonald House Charity.
With a handful of games to go in the home and away season, all teams will be looking forward to some good cricket in the coming weeks with many teams pushing into finals.
